[FPSPACE] FW: [lunar-update] Moon Pioneer 10 spacecraft align in Taurus

[LARRY KLAES]

> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 20:15:36 -0800> From: larry.kellogg at gmail.com> To: lunar-update at news.altair.com> Subject: [lunar-update] Moon Pioneer 10 spacecraft align in Taurus> > Moon Pioneer 10 spacecraft align in Taurus> > -----------------------------------------------------------------> http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/moon-pioneer-10-spacecraft-align-in-taurus> Moon Pioneer 10 spacecraft align in Taurus> > Tonight, the waxing gibbous moon shines in front of the constellation> Taurus the Bull. Unfortunately, the big, bright moon will wash out> most of the constellation's stars. Despite the moonlit glare, you may> note Taurus' brightest star, Aldebaran, to the right of the moon this> evening, and Elnath, Taurus' second brightest star, to the left of the> moon.> > This Thursday evening, the moon almost pinpoints where the Pioneer 10> spacecraft is moving away from Earth and toward the constellation> Taurus. But keep in mind that the moon resides only a little over one> light-second from Earth, whereas Pioneer 10 lies in the hinterlands of> the solar system at some 13.4 light-hours away. Even though the moon> and Pioneer 10 are in close alignment as seen from Earth, the two are> nowhere near one another.> snip> -----------------------------------------------------------------> > Was looking for something interesting for this 8th day of January and> our friend Google said look here, up in the sky, out toward the Moon> and off towards Taurus.> > We do remember Pioneer 10 who finally quit talking to us but still has> folks wondering why it might be slowing down just a bit, yes?> > http://www.space-time.info/pioneer/pioanomlit.html> http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0512121> http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/archive/pioneer10-11.html> > Well that brought back memories. Pioneer 10 data being read on a Mac> Quadra 950 with a program written in NI's LabVIEW version 3.0 a long> time ago by yours truly. What fun, trying to read software> programming guides with all those 'TBD' fill in spots and then reading> assembly printouts for the original telemetry program algorithms.> > Now talking no more. Just a plaque showing the aliens where we are.> Going, going, gone.> http://history.nasa.gov/SP-349/sp349.htm> http://history.nasa.gov/SP-349/epilog.htm#183> > Wipe away a tear.> > Thanks for looking up with me.> > Larry Kellogg> > Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/> BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/> RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml> Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update> ==============================================================> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10> > Pioneer 10 (also called Pioneer-F) was the first spacecraft to travel> through the asteroid belt, which it entered on July 15, 1972, and to> make direct observations of Jupiter, which it passed by on December 3,> 1973. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch> Complex 36A on March 2, 1972. Pioneer 10 is heading in the direction> of Aldebaran, located in Taurus. By some definitions, Pioneer 10 has> become the first artificial object to leave the solar system. It is> surely the first human-built object to have been set upon a trajectory> leading out of the solar system. However, it still has not passed the> heliopause or Oort cloud[1].> > Its objectives were to study the interplanetary and planetary magnetic> fields; solar wind parameters; cosmic rays; transition region of the> heliosphere; neutral hydrogen abundance; distribution, size, mass,> flux, and velocity of dust particles; Jovian aurorae; Jovian radio> waves; atmosphere of Jupiter and some of its satellites, particularly> Io; and to photograph Jupiter and its satellites.> > snip> ==============================================================> http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Pioneer_10> > Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid> belt and reach the outer solar system, flying past Jupiter at a> distance of about 130,354 km (81,000 miles) from the cloudtops. [See> current missions to Jupiter.] During its Jupiter encounter, Pioneer 10> imaged the planet and its moons, and took measurements of Jupiter's> magnetosphere, radiation belts, magnetic field, atmosphere, and> interior. These measurements of the intense radiation environment near> Jupiter were crucial in designing the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft.> > Also, as the first spacecraft to use a planetary gravity assist to> change its velocity, Pioneer 10 then headed out of the solar system in> the direction opposite to the Sun's motion through the Milky Way> galaxy. Except for Voyager 1, which is travelling in the opposite> direction, Pioneer 10 is farther from Earth than any other human> artifact. Even so, it will take another 2 million years for Pioneer 10> to reach the first star on its trajectory. Pioneer 10 carries a plaque> intended to communicate something about its home planet should the> spacecraft ever meet up with another intelligent species. Routine> tracking of Pioneer 10 ended in 1997, but the spacecraft continued to> send out signals until January 2003.> > snip> ==============================================================> > WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK> > ==============================================================> This is the lunar-update at news.altair.com> https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update> This list is a moderated list.> The moderator is Larry Kellogg (larry.kellogg AT gmail.com> Please send suggestions for postings directly to Larry.> ==============================================================> _______________________________________________> lunar-update mailing list, moderated by Larry Kellogg> To unsubscribe or change your options please visit:> http://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update> Forwarded by GNU Mailman at Altair Engineering, Inc. http://www.altair.com/> 
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